“The second quarter is typically a strong one for the broadband CPE market, and it didn’t disappoint,” notes Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband access and pay TV at Infonetics Research. “Revenue was up across the board, with the cable segment fairing particularly well. Wideband (DOCSIS 3.0) revenue rose 22% on the heels of a 15% increase in 1Q12. North American MSOs, and Comcast in particular, are in the process of upgrading their existing subscribers to DOCSIS 3.0, even if they’re not subscribed to a wideband tier. The flexibility of channel bonding, the transition to IPv6, and the ability to upgrade subscribers without having to do expensive truck rolls are all reasons behind the wholesale swap.”

Heynen adds: “ARRIS is the primary beneficiary of these upgrades, increasing revenue by more than a third quarter-over-quarter on the back of strong wideband EMTA sales.”

BROADBAND CPE MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

Global broadband CPE revenue rose sequentially across all product segments in 2Q12, with cable CPE up 8%, DSL CPE up 6%, and FTTH CPE up 1%

ZTE eked past Huawei to take the #1 spot for broadband CPE revenue market share in 2Q12, buoyed by strong sales of high-end VDSL gateways to European customers including Deutsche Telekom

ARRIS, Technicolor, and Pace are in a virtual dead heat for 3rd place in the race for broadband CPE revenue market share

Only 1 percentage point separates Asia Pacific, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), and North America for the broadband CPE revenue share lead in 2Q12

Infonetics forecasts there will be 112 million FTTH broadband subscribers by 2016, a 23% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2011 to 2016